After I cut ties with my parents, they were relentlessly criticized. They called me every day, begging me to restore their reputation. But how could I? And leaving the country would offer a good escape. Before I left, though, I had one more thing to do.
3
I still sued Mrs. Rhodes.
After Nathan and Fiona were taken away that day, the police uncovered evidence of their commercial relationship. Both were taken into custody.
After Nathan was released from detention, his wife had left, his job was gone, and his once–promising future was ruined. His mot- her was furious, pacing around their house, going to Mrs. Rhodes’s home every day, demanding compensation for emotional dam- ages. She claimed that if it weren’t for Mrs. Rhodes’s big mouth, her son’s secrets would never have been exposed by me. Mrs. Rhodes, naturally, refused to pay. The two of them cursed each other in the hallway daily. However, Mrs. Rhodes’s fighting power was no match for Nathan’s mother. She suffered repeated defeats and eventually stopped opening her door.
Nathan’s mother then began to broadcast Fiona’s exploits throughout the neighborhood. She set up a small stool, sat by the door, and even started a live stream. At first, she only talked about Fiona’s affairs, how she’d had five abortions in a year, and how she’d do anything for money. Later, she started revealing stories about Mrs. Rhodes’s younger days. The stories grew increasingly outra- geous, driving Mrs. Rhodes to call the police. But her reputation was already ruined.
Fiona didn’t dare leave the house, locking herself in her room, crying constantly. Perhaps the immense pressure had driven her to iliness. One morning, Fiona was seen running naked through the neighborhood, lunging at any man she saw. It was then that peop- le realized that good–girl Fiona seemed to have lost her mind.
Mrs. Rhodes admitted Fiona to a mental hospital. The neighborhood then started spreading rumors about Mrs. Rhodes withholding Fiona’s living expenses, saying she hadn’t given Fiona a single penny throughout college, which led Fiona down a dark path. Mrs. Rhodes couldn’t bear the gossip and moved away.
But it didn’t matter. With a single lawsuit, I found her anyway. I demanded she record a video apologizing to me, which had to be posted online for at least a month. I also demanded compensation for emotional damages. Mrs. Rhodes gnashed her teeth, hating me. “Chloe Bellwether, are you ever going to quit? If it weren’t for you, how would I be in this state? I haven’t even asked you for compensation, and you’re asking me!”
I gave her a disdainful look. “What state are you in? Are you talking about people saying you used to seduce men in your youth, and that you drove your own daughter crazy? Well, you’re accusing the wrong person. I didn’t spread those rumors. Go sue whoever did!”
Mrs. Rhodes’s face was cold. “You started all this! If you hadn’t insisted on calling the police, how would anyone know about Fiona’s business?
I spread my hands. “Who told you to have such a vicious tongue? Fiona was killed by your own mouth. Want compensation? your mouth for it.”
No matter how Mrs. Rhodes argued with me in court, the fact that she had spread widespread defamation was undeniale be grudgingly recorded the video, but the compensation was slow to arrive. However, my main goal wasn’t the mmay anyw
Fiona’s living expenses, saying she hadn’t given Fiona a single penny throughout college, which led Fiona down a dark path. Mrs.
Rhodes couldn’t bear the gossip and moved away.
But it didn’t matter. With a single lawsuit, I found her anyway. I demanded she record a video apologizing to me, which had to be posted online for at least a month. I also demanded compensation for emotional damages. Mrs. Rhodes gnashed her teeth, hating me. “Chloe Bellwether, are you ever going to quit? If it weren’t for you, how would I be in this state? I haven’t even asked you for compensation, and you’re asking me!”
I gave her a disdainful look. “What state are you in? Are you talking about people saying you used to seduce men in your youth, and that you drove your own daughter crazy? Well, you’re accusing the wrong person. I didn’t spread those rumors. Go sue whoever did!”
Mrs. Rhodes’s face was cold. “You started all this! If you hadn’t insisted on calling the police, how would anyone know about Fiona’s business?”
I spread my hands. “Who told you to have such a vicious tongue? Fiona was killed by your own mouth. Want compensation? Ask your mouth for it.”
No matter how Mrs. Rhodes argued with me in court, the fact that she had spread widespread defamation was undeniable. She grudgingly recorded the video, but the compensation was slow to arrive. However, my main goal wasn’t the money anyway.
After resolving the matter, I began packing my belongings. Unexpectedly, Julian returned, begging me to reconcile. He said that after divorcing me, almost no one was willing to go on blind dates with him, and those who were willing were obviously gold–digge-
- rs.
I laughed. “What’s wrong with gold–diggers? Didn’t your mother think I was a gold–digger too?”
Julian’s face flushed. “Chloe, let’s just put that behind us. Now we all know you’re innocent. Besides, I never doubted you, it was them…”
“You never doubted me, but you also never defended me.” Because of my appearance, many people slandered me. But each time, after hearing the gossip, everyone urged me to just laugh it off. Even my dearest boyfriend thought it was harmless. Because the knife hadn’t fallen on them, they didn’t feel the pain.
Now, everyone was criticizing his family for not protecting their daughter–in–law, criticizing my parents for not caring about their daughter. So they panicked, wanting to atone. But it was already too late.
“Julian, the moment you failed to defend me, I gave up on you. I gave up on my own parents; why would I want you?” I threw Julian out. I also warned him that if he came back again, I would call the police.
undered
In my second year abroad, I received a call from a young woman. She immediately expressed her gratitude. I was bewildered, but she then explained the situation. It turned out Mrs. Rhodes hadn’t changed her ways and had again spread nasty rumors about the bride at someone else’s wedding. This time, however, she met her match. Not only the bride’s family, but the groom’s family also pursued her, beating her. Mrs. Rhodes was left partially paralyzed, and with Fiona already institutionalized, there was no one to care for her. The bride, though, took responsibility and paid a settlement.
The incident caused a huge stir and topped the trending lists. However, once people realized the rumor–monger was Mrs. Rhodes, they quickly remembered my previous case. So, the bride didn’t even need to explain; everyone believed the rumors were false The young woman thanked me, saying that if I hadn’t made such a big deal out of it before, she wouldn’t have been able to resolve it so easily.
This wasn’t the first thank you call I received. Many girls found the courage to resist rumors because of me. May everyone, when faced with rumors, be able to escape the trap of self–incrimination.
Later, I finally found the person I would love for a lifetime. He respected me, believed in me. Most importantly, In crucial moments he would stand with me.
